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Swine Flu Vaccine Distribution Dilemmas: Hey, You, No Cuts!

Concern appears to be rising at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about people in lower risk groups cutting in line to receive the limited supplies of H1N1 vaccine. A letter sent today from CDC Director Thomas Frieden to state and local health officers urges that the 35.6 million doses of the vaccine now available first go to people at the highest risk of developing severe disease from the pandemic virus. Although the letter does not detail any specific problems, it pointedly says, “vaccine distribution decisions that appear to direct vaccine to people outside the identified priority groups have the potential to undermine the credibility of the program.”